Life With Derek
by Girly 411
Summary: Casey and Max break up and Derek goes nuts. Emily teams up with Derek to restore their friendship and along the way, a new love is created. What happens when Kendra steps into the picture? Will everything get mixed up or will the four remain strong?
1. Mornings

**Life With Derek!**

**Summary:** Casey and Max break up and Derek goes nuts. Emily teams up with Derek to restore their friendship and along the way, a new love is created. What happens when Kendra steps into the picture? Will everything get mixed up or will the four remain strong and stick together? R&R!

**Disclaimer:** Hi…I think it's pretty obvious that I don't own anything. I don't own Life With Derek (the TV show) and I don't own any of the characters in this story…well, except Margaret/Kit, who happens to be the narrator of this fic and based after my cousin…don't judge me. And I do own the non-present characters, Mrs. Calahan and Kay…who also happens to be based after my cousin.

**(A/N) Hey, it's the crazy author behind this fic. Here's something you might want to know…this fic was originally written in script format. My cousin helped me write this, so… One short note to all of my early readers: Margaret/Kit, our narrator's speeches will be in italics. Just so you don't get confused as to when she gives her opinions and narrations. Enjoy the first chapter…R&R!**

**Introduction:**

_Hi, my name is Margaret, but you can call me Kit. I'm a helper fairy. My job is to look around for families in need of assistance and give them a helping hand; even if that helping hand is just following them around and putting thoughts in their heads. I'm going to tell you about Casey and her stepsiblings: Derek, Edwin, and Martie. This is Life with Derek._

Chapter 1: Mornings

_It was morning at the Venturi/MacDonald house and, so far, it was quiet._ Casey walked out onto the porch in her pajamas and yawned. She loved mornings mainly because everyone was still asleep. "Ah, it's such a beautiful morning." She smiled peacefully, "And that means it's time to explore nature."

Derek walked out behind her wearing a night vest and boxers. "The one thing a man does best is getting in touch with his nature." He stated as he stretched his arms. "Yes." Casey said, noticing his presence, "Even if that's so, at least I'm wearing something." She indicated his pair of duck boxers. "What?" Derek asked in surprise, "I'm a man and we men do these things."

Just then, Martie ran onto the porch, in her princess nightgown, with Edwin close behind her, in his blue pajamas. "Casey loves Maxy!" Martie yelled. "That's right, Smartie." Derek added. "Derek loves Kay!" Casey and Edwin yelled back.

Derek growled defensively, warning Edwin to stay out of it. "Last one to get ready is a hot tamale." Edwin stated, running inside. Martie followed saying loudly, "Come on, Smerek!" The two teens walked inside.

_As soon as that was over, something else happened. I should warn you, it was beyond anything you've ever seen, but here it was the usual._

Derek walked down the empty hallway from his room. "I might as well put some pants on, at least." He muttered to himself. Edwin poked his head out from his room. "Cool" he said, realizing that he was the first one ready for school. Derek walked by and he snuck back into his room to hide. "Hey." Derek said, noticing what happened.

"Derek?" Martie asked as she poked her head out of her doorway and noticed her big brother, "Casey was right…boys are weird." She stood there watching him and Casey walked out of her room as Derek walked by. "What's up with you?" he asked her and threw a dirty shirt at her.

"Ew." She screeched, trying to remove it. "Ew." Martie copied. "Keep it up little sis." Derek praised, patting her on the head as he walked by and into the bathroom. Just then, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it." Casey offered, heading for the stairs with Martie at her heels.

"Coming!" Martie screamed, as she ran ahead of Casey and opens the door to see Max, "Hi Max, you should marry Casey." Max looked at her quizzically before asking, "What?" Casey reached the door and said, "I'll be right back." She ran up the stairs, leaving the two downstairs.

"Can I come in?" Max asked. "What's the magic word?" Martie asked him. "Um…please." Max said. "I was hoping for 'Martie is the best', but I guess that will have to do." Martie confirmed, allowing him to step inside. "So, where's Lizzie?" Max asked curiously, "I heard she was away with your parents." "Yeah, she has a big soccer game going on." Martie explained, "She won't be back for a while."

"Oh." Max said, "Is Derek ready?" "Hold on." Martie answered, before walking over to the bottom of the stairs and shouting, "Derek, are you ready?" Derek and Casey ran down the stairs and answered, "Yes." Derek had changed into a t-shirt and jeans. "All right, then." Max stated, "Lets go."

"Martie, we're going to be at school taking Midterms, so we'll be gone for a while." Casey explained, "You get to go in late today. Mrs. Calahan will be here to drive you and Edwin to school, so be good." "All right, Casey." Martie answered, "Bye, Smerek." "Bye, Smartie." He responded as he put on his leather jacket and headed out the door with the other two behind him.

When they were outside, Derek asked, "Max, we're using your car, right?" "Yeah." He answered. "Good, because mine is out of gas." Derek replied. "That's not the only thing." Max muttered, "Now, let's go." "Just ignore him." Casey said to Max, indicating Derek.

**(A/N 2) Crazy author…again. Anywho…how'd you like it? Let me know if this fic is worth continuing and, if it isn't, let me know what I can change about it. I hope you liked it this way…remember it's only the first chapter and it might get better. There's a lot of confusion between many characters, so I hope that will leave you wanting to know more. By the way, in case you were wondering, I kind of forgot to add Lizzie in this fic, so I figured that Edwin and Casey teaming up would kind of fit. That is, since I had Lizzie be away for a soccer game. R&R!**


	2. Love In The Air

**Disclaimer:** I feel that it's pretty obvious that I don't own anything. Isn't it, though? If you don't count all the unfamiliar characters, I don't own anything. All the characters you recognize belong to Disney. The rest of them belong to me…but I will lend them to anyone who asks nicely.

**Chapter 2: Love in the Air**

_That afternoon, the group finally returned to the Venturi/MacDonald house. Derek, as captain of the hockey team, had taken the liberty of arguing with Max, the captain of the football team, the entire time they were out to lunch. Derek got out of the car and ran ahead of them to open the door. Max had insisted on walking Casey to the door._

Casey chose to ignore the fact that Max didn't open the door for her or defend her, when Derek was insulting her during the ride. Instead, Casey got out of the sports car and Max joined her on the walk up the driveway as Derek managed to get the door open and ran inside.

"So, that math test was tricky." Casey admitted in attempt to start a conversation. "Yeah." Max simply replied, putting his hands in his pockets and not even glancing at Casey, who thought it was a rude way to treat his own girlfriend.

Then, she realized she didn't really know much about him. He'd never really told her anything personal. "So, are you a vegetarian?" she asked him politely. She most definitely was and she hoped Max was, too. "No." Max answered with a shrug, "Why would I want to live off plants?"

"What?" Casey asked, rage and hurt filling her insides. By now, they'd gotten to the stairs and the two were looking at each other as they stopped in front of the open door. "I said, no." Max repeated calmly, "I don't thrive off plants like all those girly people, who are too weak to eat a chicken."

"Is this a joke?" Casey screamed in frustration as she backed inside the house. "No." Max replied with a hint of dry sarcasm, "I'm sorry, I didn't know that bothered you." "Well, there's a lot you don't know." Casey told him, "We're through!"

With that, she slammed the door in Max's face before he could object. He looked at the door in confusion before walking away and returning to his car. Casey heaved a shaky sigh before walking over to the couch and plopped herself down onto it.

She'd thought that Max was…different. She'd thought he wasn't like Derek or any of the other guys she knew. Sam was better than Max, Casey remembered, but there was no way she and Sam would be more than just friends. Casey picked up a pillow from the couch and screamed into it in frustration.

_A week later, a lot had changed. Max got a new girlfriend, Kendra, Casey joined the Handy Helper group and, when Derek found out, he went nuts. I'll tell you now, that he would do anything in attempt to stop them from breaking up for good._

_Well, his intents weren't all for their own good, it was for his own personal achievement. Derek's only hope was for Max to end up marrying Casey and get her out of the house, so he could once again dominate. That made it even worse when he laid eyes on Kendra, himself. It was love at first sight._

At school, Derek casually walked up to Max. "So, Max, what's Kendra like?" he asked casually. Max looked at him for a minute. The two jocks didn't usually talk. It wasn't like they were friends or anything. "Oh, she's beautiful." Max finally responded, "Is there a problem?"

No." Derek laughed slightly before flipping out, "Just that you broke up with Casey! You made the biggest mistake of your life, breaking up with Casey!" "But I like Kendra." Max interjected, "Plus, Casey and I weren't meant for each other anyway."

"Don't say that." Derek told him. "Why not?" Max asked in confusion. "I don't know. Just don't say that." Derek continued to explain, "Kendra is nice and all, but Casey and you are like pieces of a puzzle. With out each other, you have no life."

Max looked at him quizzically for a few seconds before it hit him. "You want me to break up with Kendra?" he asked in a threatening tone. "Well…yeah." Derek admitted before adding, "And get back together with Casey." Max eyed him suspiciously. Derek sighed and rolled his eyes in frustration. He had to come up with something and fast. How could he make sure Max dumped Kendra? Then, it clicked.

"Listen, we guys are jocks. Cool and high ranked on the social scale." Derek started to put on the charm he used when he wanted something, "We date the girls we choose and some of them don't last long. You've been dating Kendra for about a week. To us that's equal to about a month in guy time."

"Guy time?" Max asked and raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Yeah, something about guy psychology." Derek quickly explained. "Psychology?" Max questioned with a laugh. It wasn't everyday that Derek talked about anything of relevance to science.

"I do listen in science class…sometimes." Derek told him, "But that's not important. You were dating Casey for about a month before both of you broke up. To us guys that's about a year in…" "Guy time." Max finished for him.

"Now, you're catching on." Derek smiled at him in satisfaction, "That means…Casey is still special to you because she was the first girl to last that long with you." "So?" Max asked him, "We've broken up. That's the end of it." Derek sighed.

"No, it's not over. You two broke up because Casey's a spaz and got upset because you said only girls live off plants." Derek pointed out how pathetic it actually was, "Now…if I were you, I'd talk to her, but first I'd dump my current girlfriend…just so she doesn't feel uncomfortable."

"And what's in it for you?" Max asked knowingly. Derek wasn't the kind of guy who does good deeds because it was the right thing to do. "What?" Derek asked feeling insulted, "Just because I decide to do something mice for once, all of a sudden you think I want something?"

"Yes." Max stated firmly, lookin Derek in the eyes. "Look, the sooner Casey gets out of my house the better and the more often she's gone I'm happy." Derek explained, "Plus, I heard that Casey wants to get back together with you anyway. "Really?" Max asked hopefully.

"Yeah." Derek lied, even though he didn't know for sure what Casey was really planning, "I think you two are meant for each other. So, take the ride and follow my advice." "Okay." Max agreed, "I'll break up with Kendra and talk with Casey." He turned around and walked off to find Kendra. Derek smiled and muttered, "Phase one complete."

When Max finally found Kendra, by her locker, he walked up to her. "Hey." He said and she turned around. "Oh, hey." She cooed happily, since she knew there were always people watching when she talked to him. "Listen, Kendra, this isn't working out." Max stated unaware that Derek was waiting for him a few feet away.

"What?" Kendra asked him in shock, "Are you breaking-up with me?" "Yes." Max admitted kindly as Derek walked up to them. Kendra grabbed Derek by the arm and turned around. "Come on, Derek." She said, almost about to cry, "We have to go to science class." As she marched away with him, he called back to Max, "Talk to Casey." Max just nodded, heaved a long drawn out sigh, and turned around to go to his next class.

**(A/N) I'm back! How's chapter 2? I hope you like the sort-of non-existent form of a cliffy. I mean, it was meant as one, but somehow I doubt that it is. (Big sigh) I guess I'll have to try harder next time to keep you interested in this fic. I need feedback. What do you think will happen? R&R!**


	3. Study Date

**Disclaimer:** Guess what I don't own? Any and all things Disney! (Even though I wish I kind of did, but then again, I'm not Walt Disney. It would be weird if I was…because I'm a teenage girl? Ignore that.) Life With Derek (the TV show) belongs to Disney Channel, which technically belongs to Walt Disney…I think? Anywho…the characters you recognize totally belong to Disney (the channel and the person, I'm pretty sure), but the ones you don't recognize belong to me (that is, the crazy author responsible for this fic)!

**Chapter 3: Study Date**

_Derek and Emily, Casey's best friend, had formed a truce to get Casey and Max back together. It had seemed that all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't get them back together again. That was, until their attempts finally paid off and they got the two to go on a friendly…study…date. That night, the strangest thing happened. If I didn't have to tell you, I would tell you anyway. It was rough, but things almost turned out for the better._

"All right, Case." Derek stated as he grabbed his leather jacket and headed for the door, "I'm going over to Emily's tonight to work on some physic's lab." "Really?" Casey questioned, "Are you really going to do homework or something else?" She grinned at him.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Casey." Derek stated sarcastically, "I'll be back later and I've already put Martie to bed and threatened Edwin to stay upstairs and leave you alone." With that, he opened the door and walked out, shutting it behind him.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. When the person picked up, he simply said, "All right, I'm outside. Meet at the side of the house by the bushes." He hung up without waiting for an answer and headed for the meeting spot.

A minute after he arrived, he heard a familiar voice. "You could have said 'Good bye'." Emily told him as she approached him after walking out from behind the fence. "What? I'm doing a good deed here, now you expect me to be polite?" Derek asked, lowering his voice so no one, but he and Emily could hear.

"No." Emily admitted, "But it wouldn't hurt to try it." Derek eyed her suspiciously before asking, "What more do you want from me?" "Did you bring the flowers?" Emily questioned hopefully. "Yes." Derek responded quietly and lifted up the bouquet from where he'd hid them in the bushes.

"Hide." Emily told him and the two jumped into the bushed, just as Max walked up to the door and rung the doorbell. Edwin answered the door. "Hey, M-dawg" Edwin stated in attempt to sound cool. "What's up, Ed?" Max asked. "The usual." Edwin shrugged, "Casey will be ready in a second."

He turned around and yelled, "Casey! He's here!" Then, he turned back to Max who shoved his hands in his pockets, like he always did when he felt uncomfortable in a situation. "She'll be here." Edwin reassured and Casey appeared behind him.

"Hi." Max said to her. "Hi" Casey replied with an awkward smile. "Well, you kids have fun." Edwin told them as he headed for the stairs, "If you need me, I'll be up in my room." With that, he left. "So…can I come in?" Max asked with a calm smile, "Or would you prefer I stay out here?" "No, you can come in." Casey told him before turning to walk over to the couch.

Max shrugged and followed, closing the door behind him. "I know this might seem strange and awkward, but we have to remain friends instead of avoiding each other like nuts." Max told her as the two sat down. Casey sighed and nodded.

It was the same thing when she'd broken up with Sam. They'd avoided each other and acted as if the other didn't exist. If they'd managed to remain friends, she and Max could. "Do you want to go into the kitchen so we'll have a more quiet place to study?" Casey suggested. "Sure." Max replied as the two got up.

When they got to the table, they sat down across from each other. "You can just put your books down anywhere." Casey said. "Thanks." Max stated and the two started to study. "So, how have you been doing?" Casey asked, attempting to start a friendly conversation. "In school or just me in general?" Max asked her and they laughed. "Both." Casey clarified with a smile.

"I've been fine." Max answered and opened his science text book. "Oh…" Casey said with a smile, "Do you need any help with that studying for the big Science test tomorrow?" "I would greatly appreciate it." Max agreed and returned the smile.

_The two of them start to study, but from outside, Emily and Derek don't see any accomplishment. So they take some action, no thanks to me._

_Tap Tap Tap_

Casey and Max looked up from the book as a tapping noise came from the living room. "Excuse me." Casey stated as she stood up, "I'll be right back." She figured it was probably Derek trying to bug her, but walked into the other room anyway. "That's all right, just take your time." Max called after her and, the moment she was gone, he sighed in relief. He couldn't believe he was still there.

_Tap Tap Tap_.

He looked over at the window in the kitchen and saw Derek signaling to him. Max got up slowly, looked around, and headed for the window. When he got to it, he opened it and noticed Emily was there with Derek. "What are you two doing?" he asked in confusion.

"Digging to China." Emily stated sarcastically. "Are you two spying?" Max asked looking at the skeptically. "Well…Yeah." Derek admitted. Emily shot him a look that told him to be quiet. "Here's some flowers and a book." She told Max, handing him the bouquet and a small book, which he took reluctantly. He glimpsed at the cover and his face showed barely any emotion.

"_Dating for Dummies?_" he asked blandly as he raised an eyebrow, "Are you suggesting something?" "Just go." Derek blurted in frustration. "Fine." Max agreed, "But I don't want anymore of your help tonight, got it?" "Oh, we got it all right." Emily told him as she narrowed her eyes.

Max closed the window and returned to his seat. Just then, Casey came back into the kitchen. "There wasn't anyone at the door and I checked all the windows." She began very confused. She was sure Derek had tried to pull something.

"I'm sure it was just the wind." Max tried to get her to forget about it, "Here, I have some flowers for you." He handed her the bouquet and tucked the small book into his jacket pocket. "Oh, thank you." Casey smiled happily as she sniffed the bouquet, "I'll get a vase to put them in." With that, she walked back into the living room to find a suitable vase from the China cabinet.

_Tap Tap Tap_

Max went over to the window, opened it, and whispered to the two, "Thanks guys." "You're welcome." Emily told him. "Now, pay attention." Derek urged and Max closed the window to return to the table. Casey returned with a clear blue vase in one hand and the bouquet in the other.

"I really like the flowers, Max." she told him as she filled the vase with water at the sink, "You know…I was thinking that we should hang out casual like friends." When the vase was full, she stopped the water and put the flowers in. Then, she turned to Max. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, too." He told her, "So, is it a deal?" "Deal." Casey smiled, placing the vase on the table.

Now that that's settled, I better get going." Max told her as he put his books back into his bag. "See you tomorrow?" Casey asked casually. "Sure." Max stated as he slung his bag over his shoulder, "I'll meet you before lunch." "Bye." Casey said as Max walked out the door. "Bye." He called back to her and closed the door behind him. Casey sighed happily. Maybe there was still hope.

Outside, Emily and Derek groaned. "That didn't work out as well as we planned." Derek stated in frustration. "They're making good headway." Emily said to brighten the topic. "But still no hugging, no gross pet-named, not even a kiss good bye." Derek complained, "No wonder they broke up. They're really bad at dating." "Well, I've got to go." Emily shrugged, "I'll see you tomorrow." "All right." Derek said and watched her walk away.

"Just then, he saw someone very familiar approaching him from across the street. "Is that…yes it is." Derek said to himself as he walked closer to the person before casually saying, "Hey, Kendra. What are you doing here?" "Um…hey, Derek." Kendra greeted when she'd walked up to him, "I was wondering whether you'd like to be mine."

Derek blinked for a moment to process what she was saying. "Yeah." He managed to say as calmly as possible. "See you later…" Kendra began before stopping to think of a cute pet-name for him, "Dash Unicorn!" With that, she walked off, leaving Derek to stand there staring at her in bewilderment. "What?" he muttered to himself in utter confusion.

**(A/N) Hey, readers…if there are any of you out there. Well, this is the next chapter. I'm so sorry for not updating in forever, but I had computer trouble. So, what did you think? Please, please, please, review. I'm begging you. So, yeah, I'm going to try to get at least 1 review per chapter before I update, but that might not happen. Please, just review. I'm sorry to keep you waiting, but if you review more often, the updates will come a lot quicker. I promise. So, R&R!**


	4. School

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything related to Disney. I hardly own this fic, being the fact that my cousin and younger brother helped me write it. It was mostly my cousin's idea. So, yeah, I do own the narrator. I don't own the characters you recognize. That's basically it. Now, read!

**Chapter 4: School**

The next day at school, Derek walked up to Max by the lockers. "Hey, Max. Guess what?" Derek greeted him. "What now?" Max asked, turning to face Derek, "Haven't you done enough already?" "No, but that's not what I wanted to tell you." Derek began, "Kendra is my new girlfriend."

Max laughed for a second before asking, "So, what's your nickname?" Derek froze in confusion and slight horror. "What do you mean?" he asked Max. "She gave me one." Max told him, "She gives all of her boyfriends a nickname."

Just then, Kendra walked up to Derek. "Hey, Dash Unicorn!" she said in a flirtatious way that made Derek shiver. "Hey." He mumbled as Max cleared his throat catching their attention. "Oh…" Kendra stated in her normal voice, "Hi, Max." With that, she turned on her heels and walked away.

When they were sure she was out of earshot, Max burst out laughing. "What?" Derek asked feeling slightly embarrassed. "Dash Unicorn?" Max teased, when he'd stopped laughing. "Yeah, that confused me, too." Derek stated as Max started laughing again, "Well, don't just laugh. What was your nickname?"

Max stopped laughing, took a breath, and whispered, "Fluffy Bunny." Derek winced, "I feel your pain." "well, it could be worse." Max told him. "How much worse?" Derek questioned curiously. "well, you know the captain of the basketball team?" Max asked and Derek nodded, "He was Kendra's boyfriend last month."

"What was his nickname?" Derek gulped. "Pink Poodle." Max said in a low voice. "Wow… I guess it really can be worse." Derek stated, "I mean, guys don't like pink and poodles are girly dogs. I can understand why he's going into hiding."

The boys both nodded in agreement. After a moment of silence between the two teens, Derek finally spoke. "I guess I'll see you later. He told Max, "I promised I'd meet someone." "You…promised?" Max mused, "It has to be a girl…possibly Kendra?"

He looked at Derek expectantly. "No, not Kendra." Derek told him defensively, "Someone else. We've been…friends…for a while now." "All right." Max said, "I'll see you later." "Bye." Derek grunted before walking off.

_So far, everyone was content. Casey and Max had, after all, agreed to be friends. It was only the next day that Derek and Emily were afraid that something bad would mess everything up._

Derek walked down the school hallway and Martie followed him, copying his actions and words. "Hey." Derek said as he approached Emily, "What's up?" "Keeping it real." Emily responded as Casey walked up to her best friend. As Derek walked by, Martie followed and said, "Hey. What's up?"

Casey stared in disbelief that Martie had escaped from her Pre-school group again. The Pre-schoolers were touring the High School section of the school for that week and it was the third time Martie had escaped to follow Derek.

The best friends watched as Martie followed Derek into the boys' bathroom. "Ah, female!" a group of guys from inside the bathroom screamed and Martie was shoved out. "I have a life, too, you know!" she screamed at the closed door stamping her foot in rejection before one of her teachers dragged her back to the rest of her class.

"Why me?" Casey moaned. "Oh, it's all right, Case." Emily comforted, "All siblings are annoying. It's part of their job." "Em, you have an older brother, right?" Casey asked curiously. "Um…sort of." Emily responded, "Maxamillion." She pointed to Max who was talking to a group of guys, most likely jocks.

"So." Casey began slowly, "I've been dating your brother?" "Mm hm." Emily nodded in agreement, "Up until last week." "Wow." Casey stuttered in shock, "I didn't know." "So, Derek is dating Kendra?" Emily asked to change the subject.

"He should be with you." Casey stated thoughtfully as she grinned. "Me?" Emily asked as she raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Who would want to date a waitress who works at the Disney Diner?" "Derek would." Max stated as he walked up to him and sighed. "Why would Derek want to date me?" she asked her brother.

"I'll force him." Max stated simply, catching Casey's attention. "Max!" Emily exclaimed, but realized how she could get the results she was looking for, "Fine, but only if you go on a proper date with Casey." "Emily!" Max yelled. He looked at Casey who shrugged.

"Fine, but I have to go to science class." Max sighed, "See you, Casey. Good luck on the test." "Yeah, you, too." Casey replied only slightly confused. Emily sneaked away, leaving Casey to figure out what happened on her own.

_It took Max and Casey long enough to think about how bad things could have been. Now that they might be officially back together and that Derek and Emily would be dating, where they belonged, they had nothing to worry about…or so they thought._

After class, Casey met Max by his locker. "Hey, Max!" she exclaimed excitedly as she approached him, "I aced the test, how did you do?" Max turned to face her and smiled. "I did very well, thanks to you." He told her. "No problem, it was the least I could do." Casey stated, "You know, I have to talk to you about something personal. Lets grab a table in the cafeteria." "Sure." Max stated and the two headed for the cafeteria.

_Casey told Max about how they could get Derek and Emily to be truly together. She told him about how they always stared at each other and wanting to be together. Except that they hadn't picked up the courage to ask. When school ended that day, Casey and Max found themselves in a rut._

The two walked down the hallway together with Derek, Edwin, and Martie following them. "Max, do you want to go home with us today?" Casey asked him. "Well, it only makes sense now that we have a few days off from school to relax." Max responded, "Of course, it wouldn't be possible unless our teachers had that big retreat."

"I guess." Casey agreed as the group got outside, "I mean, it's a whole week of no school for all the High Schoolers. That means Derek still has to go for extra help if he wants to pass the year." "Hey, Casey." Martie ran up to the two and asked, "Are you and Max back together again?"

"Of course, they are." Edwin said, stopping the group, "That's why they're standing next to each other so closely…aren't you?" He looked at Casey and Max expectantly. Derek grabbed Edwin and Martie by the shoulders and told them, "Guys, you might want to stay ahead with me and leave these two to talk alone."

"Keep out of this." Max told Derek, "You've done enough already." "Guys." Casey interrupted, "Just head home." "Hold on!" an all too familiar voice called from behind them.

**(A/N) Wow! Okay, there's my first cliffie. Can you guess who the person is that called them? Well, if you guess, I'll give you a virtual cookie! Who doesn't love cookies? Anywho…the strangest thing happened. I forgot Emily's name, so my brother hit me in the head with the handle of a knife and I remembered. Okay, so it was a small knife with a wooden handle. And he didn't hit me hard. But it hurt. So, yeah. That's my big story! Anyway…R&R!**


	5. Confrontation

**Disclaimer:** What you recognize doesn't belong to me. What you don't, that belongs to me. Read…

**Chapter 5: Confrontation**

After a few seconds of fast-paced clicking heels, Derek turned around and all color drained from his face. "Uh oh. Ex-girlfriends at…" he said and then realized he didn't have a watch, "I don't know what time." "So." Kendra screamed, "Word around the school has it that you're with Emily, now."

She stopped in front of Derek, who stared at her blankly, watching the tears fill her eyes. He quickly tried to think of how he could fix this. "Well, sort of." He told her, in spite of the stares he was receiving from the others, "I was going to get around to working things out with you first…"

"About what?" Kendra sobbed, "Just dumping me without telling me?" "No." Derek panicked, "In fact, could I talk to you alone?" "I guess so." Kendra moaned. Derek directed her in the opposite direction, away from the group.

As they walked, he tried to come up with away to deal with Kendra's crying. He hated it when girls cried. He never wanted to deal with it because he despised doing so. He supposed girls only did it to make all guys feel bad and…it usually worked.

They stopped a few feet away from the others, who were talking among themselves. "So…what's this about you and Emily?" Kendra asked expectantly. "Actually, Emily and I have agreed on a bet with Casey and Max. This is just part of it." Derek explained in a low voice, "There's nothing going on. The less they know, the better."

Kendra looked at him for a moment, studying his expression; looking for some kind of catch. "All right." She said slowly, still studying Derek's nervous expression, "So, I guess that's why I'm now you _ex_ – girlfriend. That's what you said!"

"You see…about that." Derek said, thinking of a way out of it, "As I told you, the less Casey and Max know about our bet, the better! So, please keep on the law in front of them…please." He looked at her closely as her expression softened.

"And make it look like we had an argument. Okay?" he added as an after thought. "All right, but only because I like the way you think." Kendra whispered violently to him, "Later, Dash Unicorn." With that, she stamped her foot on the ground, stuck her nose in the air, and stomped off in a huff. She pushed past the others and walked away in a hurry.

Derek walked back to the group with a sigh. Casey turned to him and grinned thoughtfully. "Derek, I have a feeling you've been used." She told him. Derek just looked back at her and gave it a second thought. It did kind of make sense.

"You know…somehow I think Max was, too." Derek responded. Max looked at his watch. "And soon we'll be playing limbo with Martie, if we don't get going." He stated, moving the group forward, "Come on." "But you still didn't answer my question!" Edwin complained, but Derek dragged him and Martie a few feet ahead of Casey and Max.

"Use your eyes, Ed." Derek told him through gritted teeth, "What does it look like to you?" Edwin looked back at Casey and Max, who were holding hands and talking. "I see…teen love." He responded. "Bingo!" Derek stated as Edwin looked at him, "And teen love is like puppy love. It never lasts, which is why I'm here."

**(A/N) Sorry this is so short, but this fic is only 10 chapters long and this was a continuation/filler. So, yeah…R&R! Let me know what you liked or didn't. What do you think will happen next? So, plz, R&R!**


	6. Babysitting

**Disclaimer: **Okay, so nothing belongs to me except the narrator, Kit! Okay, yeah…so no stealing! Read plz…

**Chapter 6: Babysitting**

_The next day, nothing had changed. Everyone was home and Casey was watching her step-siblings. They were nothing, but trouble until something difficult strikes._

"Guys, will you keep it down?" Casey called from where she sat on the couch, "I'm trying to read a book!" There was a crash from upstairs and Edwin yelled, "Why don't you try and make us?" Casey sat up and was about to say something, but Derek cut her off. "Well, maybe you should call your boyfriend over here to help you control these little monsters." Derek suggested. "Hey!" Martie yelled from upstairs, "I heard that!" "Maybe I will." Casey responded to Derek's suggestion and got up. She was about to head into the kitchen to grab the phone when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Derek said as he got up out of his armchair, "Hold on, Case. Don't do anything until I answer the door." Casey rolled her eyes before reclaiming her seat on the couch. "I'm coming." Derek said as he opened the door, "Hey, Max. What's up?" Max shrugged. "Nothing really." He stated simply, "I just came to check up on everybody." "Well?" Casey asked impatiently as Martie and Edwin trudged down the stairs, "Who's there?" Derek sighed before rolling his eyes. "It's your knight in shining armor from Camelot coming to take you away with him and make you his bride where you'll live happily ever after." He stated sarcastically, "Who do you think it is? It's Max!" "Hi." Max stated, poking his head inside to look at Casey. "Hey, we were just talking about you." Casey called to him, "Come in!"

He walked inside and Derek closed the door. Casey stood up as Max walked over to her. "What are you doing here?" she asked him. Max winked at her. "You said you wanted chivalry, right? So, I came to whisk you away from this horrible place loaded with dragons and horrible monsters." He teased and Casey giggled, "Actually I…came to check up on you and see if you were having any trouble with these little creatures." He pointed to Edwin and Martie, who had sat down on the couch. "What do you mean _little_?" Martie demanded. "Yeah, I'm 13!" Edwin called back to him. "Anyway, I was just about to call you to find out if you were free or not." Casey told Max, ignoring the others in the room. "Well, I am now." Max responded with a smile.

"Ooh, are you two going to sit together and make goo-goo faces at each other?" Martie asked them. "No, Martie, but if you don't leave them alone, they might make war faces at us." Derek answered for them returning to his chair. "Oh, you'll be lucky if I so much as flick your nose." Casey teased. "Edwin, you're old enough to take care of these two." Max stated indicating Martie and Derek, "Why don't you and Martie tie Derek to a chair or something and give him the interrogation." "And we can go up to my room." Casey told Max as she led him to the stairs. "Anything to get away from this scene." He responded and the two started climbing the stairs. "All they want to do is kiss!" Martie screamed. "And better get to know each other." Derek added, but the two had already reached the top.

_Now that Max was alone with Casey upstairs, they had very little to talk about. Usually, they had a conversation over how annoyingly suspicious Derek was acting, but being alone left them with nothing. Max rushed into a conversation about what happened the night of their study date. He explained everything until Casey understood what had happened. Still, they had no idea what was really going on. When they had bored themselves about how great everything was going to be, Max decided it would be better to start home._

"See ya, Casey!" Max called as he walked down the stairs. "Bye!" Casey called back from the top of the stairs. Max paused only a moment on his way out to look at Derek, who was tied to his armchair. Max shook his head and left. "Casey loves Max! Ooh." Martie called as she ran up the stairs to bother Casey, who had gone back to her room. "Martie, no." Edwin warned as he followed her. "Someone help me!" Derek called, "Anyone?" "Go away!" Casey yelled from her room. Derek sighed in frustration, "It's a good thing they don't know how to tie proper knots."

**(A/N) Hello, readers! Thx for all the lovely reviews, but I'd still like more so if you could do that for me it would be greatly appreciated! Also…the narrator is mentioned in one of my other fics. Can you find out which one? If you do, I'll give you one of my infamous virtual cakes! YAY FOR THE CAKES! Okay, so plz tell me what you think of this fic so far or I won't post anymore of it until you do. Thx loads for those of you who have reviewed and I beg you to continue doing so. What do you think will happen next? Take a wild guess and I mean a really WILD guess. Is anything I write ever expected? Uh…no., no, not really, I can't say it is. Right, so plz R&R! Thx bunches!**


	7. Nuisances

**Disclaimer:** I know I don't have to keep writing these, I don't own anything you recognize, I do own Kit…um…that's pretty much it. Yeah, read on!

**Chapter 7: Nuisances**

_Well, after that happened, Casey and Max decided to meet up again the next day. Their plan was to get to the bottom of their problems. Meanwhile, Martie had practically dragged Derek and Edwin back to the house after school. She got them to follow up her master plan on embarrassing Casey and Max. Derek wasn't sure how this would complete his plan, but Martie seemed to convince him. Though, neither him or Edwin knew what her plan was._

"The kids should be home with Derek any minute now so we better talk quick." Max suggested as he walked into the living room with Casey. "No…Derek said he was going to be keeping Edwin and Martie with him for something special." Casey told him as she sat down on the couch. "Like what?" Max asked, taking a seat next to her. "I'm not quite sure what he said." Casey responded with a sigh, "All I heard was 'Everything will be fine' and 'we'll be home before curfew'." "That bad, huh?" Max questioned with a smile.

"I guess so." Casey stated, "Let's put some music on okay?" "Yeah and I'll turn on the lights." Max agreed as they both stood up. Casey turned on the music player while Max turned on the light. "So…do you want to talk about school or family crisis?" Casey asked him as they sat down again. "I don't even want to get into my cat problems." Max answered, "It's my pet snake that drives her nuts." "Who? The cat or Emily?" Casey asked curiously. "Both." Max replied and the two started to laugh, "But Emily handles it better than our mom." "And all the cats we had running around here for a while got a bit pesky at times." Casey stated, remembering how Lizzie insisted they were given away because they tried to eat her gerbil.

"I met those cats, but at the wrong time." Max said, "I don't want to go back to all those bruises, paw prints and claw marks. I was aching for a month." He shivered a little remembering the incident where he learned what happened when you pet the cat the wrong way. A knock on the door brought him out of his harsh memories. "I'll get it" he offered as he went over to the door and opened it, "There's no one there for miles." "Maybe we thought we heard something." Casey suggested as Max closed the door and returned to the couch. "Both of us?" Max asked as he sat down, "Maybe not."

There was a tapping sound coming from one of the windows. "I definitely heard something that time. I'll go check." Casey offered as she got up and looked out the windows, "That's strange, there_ is_ no one there." "I don't know." Max stated slowly, considering the possibilities, "Both of us hearing things both times is pretty unlikely. I bet someone's out there." "But we checked." Casey reminded him as she turned to face him, "No one was there." "I'm not too sure." Max told her, remembering the night of their study date. Suddenly, the music started to flicker on and off and the lights started to flicker.

"What is going on, Max?" Casey asked in confusion as the two got up. "I'm still working on it." Max answered, scratching his head and looking around. Casey walked over to the music player and looked at it closely. "Wait…that's weird." She said, "The music is on controller, but none of us have the remote." "Well, I guess…that's strange." Max stated, looking at the lights, "Hold on…the lights seem fine. I mean, they're not dead and they seem to be in perfect condition. I don't see how…" Just then, the lights stopped flickering and the music turned on again.

"That was…weird." Casey stated to break the awkward silence. They heard familiar giggles coming from outside. "I bet I know what's up." Max said as he led Casey into the kitchen and pointed at the open window. Casey smiled in return as she developed a plan. "Follow my lead." She told Max as they walked over to the window. Max shrugged and played along. "Well… Max, that could have gone better." Casey stated loud enough so the three in the bushes could hear them. "Yeah." Max responded in the same way, "We're just lucky that no one was here."

"Speaking of which, we're alone now." Casey stated with a wink, "So, I guess it's okay to finish up." "Right." Max responded with a smile. The two made a kissing sound and the three outside laughed. "Ew." Martie giggled. "Gross." Edwin whispered. Derek sighed satisfied…but grossed out. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but wait until I…" Derek stated as he looked up and spotted Casey and Max staring at them, "Run!" He got up and ran away from the house. Edwin and Martie got up, looked at each other, and shrugged. "Run!" Martie screamed as the two followed Derek. Casey and Max laughed as they returned into the living room. "As if we won't see them later." Casey stated, sitting back down on the couch.

"Well, I gotta hand it to you, Casey." Max said, taking a seat next to her, "That was a pretty quick idea." "You just have to know the right words." Casey told him with a smile. "I probably should go." Max said as he grabbed his backpack, "I don't want to stay too long." He stood up, but Casey grabbed his arm and pulled him back into his seat. "You know…tomorrow I have a lot to do and the teachers' meetings don't end until the end of the week." Casey stated as Max looked at her expectantly, "Do you want to stay the night? I can set up the guest room for you." "Sure." Max agreed, "But I'll have to let my parents know. It's my night for cat duties, but she doesn't like me."

"Who?" Casey asked with a smile, "Emily or the cat?" Max smiled back at her. "My mother." He teased. "Max!" Casey laughed and playfully whacked him in the arm. "Just kidding." Max reassured. They both sighed. "You can use the kitchen phone." Casey told him and stood up, "I'll make the guest bed." "Thanks." Max stated and stood up next to her. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and ran into the kitchen. Casey sighed as she walked up the stairs with a hand to her cheek.

**(A/N) Wasn't that cute? Well, I hope you enjoyed it. I would like at least 1 review for this chappie until I update. How do you think Casey and Max's relationship will go? Will they really end up being together officially or will it all fall apart? And what about Derek and Emily? Will they every really get together or will they just remain being friends working together for the good of Masey (Max and Casey)? Really weird pairing name I know. Well, review and tell me what you think. If I could get 5 reviews that would be nice, too ya know. Thx loads for anyone reading this! L8rs!**


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